The Goods on Fantasy Hockey

So how does the health of Sidney Crosby affect his fantasy value this season? What about for future seasons? I answer a question from a reader who was recently offered Sid the Kid in a keeper league trade, which I believe that he would be better off not making if he wants to win his league this season.

Ian,

I was recently offered a trade: Sidney Crosby (yes, Sidney) and Tuukka Rask for Ryan Kesler.

My initial instinct was – no-brainer. However, the more I thought about it, I have no idea when (and if) Sid’s coming back and Kesler’s been hot. I’m a B’s fan and so I know that Rask has been the best backup in the league and will get another 15-20 starts from here on out. I’ve also considered that I could turn around and swing Nikolai Khabibulin, Jonas Hiller, or J. S. Giguere (picked him up for Curtis Sanford) to replace Kesler.

The last thing to consider is that we have two keepers in this league and, at worst, Sid could be one of mine next year (if he plays). But I’ve always been a guy who plays for right NOW instead of the future (I traded Steven Stamkos last year for Ilya Kovalchuk, Jeff Carter, Patrick Sharp, and Cam Ward – couldn’t say no – and it helped me win the championship).

Basically, I’m leery about giving up a guy in Kesler who’s hot right now for a guy who might not play again this year – or next! But then again I’d also be getting a backup goalie who has better numbers than all four of my starting goalies.

Am I overthinking this? What are your thoughts?

Thanks, Andy

Hi Andy,

Yeah, that’s an interesting one. On one hand, your team looks like it could use better goaltending. On the other hand, you could wind up with a Rask for Kesler trade, if Crosby doesn’t play this year (and that’s a real possibility, unfortunately).

If you are rebuilding for the future, then this is the right deal, even with the slight chance that Crosby never plays again. Rask will eventually replace Tim Thomas as the Bruins’ starting goalie. But if you are in a position to win the title this year, then Kesler is the player who will easily provide you with the most production out of the three players involved. I’m assuming the other guy is trying to unload Crosby because he’s trying to win the title too. (Note: Andy emailed me afterward to say that the other guy is currently in second place.) But I have a rule when making deals – I never trade for injured players. Even if they are close to returning or day-to-day… which can turn into week-to-week… and month-to-month… and then you get the short end of the stick.

Ian

Leave your feedback below, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) me, or follow me on Twitter.

About The Goods on Fantasy Hockey

My name is Ian Gooding, and this is The Goods on Fantasy Hockey. Given my ability to understand numbers, write sentences, and follow hockey, it’s not a surprise to those who know me that I became a fantasy hockey writer. I started writing about fantasy hockey in 2006 for fantasyhockey.com and became the site’s content editor in 2007. Looking to expand my audience, I joined Kukla’s Korner in the summer of 2011 to create the site’s first fantasy hockey blog.

A few times each week, I’ll provide an article called “Pick Six” where I will write about six players that should either be in your fantasy team’s starting lineup or bench for the upcoming game. As well, I’ll provide the fantasy takes on important hockey developments. You can also email me your questions or comments to gooding74@shaw.ca, or follow me on Twitter.